This is a rant, but it also serves as a note to my future self for when I’m a manager. Hopefully that will never happen, but sometimes leaders have command thrust upon them.

  1. NO MEETINGS. Not Ever. Never. Never ever. The meetings that are scheduled are strictly optional, for diversionary purposes only. Every minute you’re in a meeting is a minute you’re being paid not to work. They’re a waste of time. Okay, well, with one exception: getting people together who ALL have to communicate in a synchronous manner to solve some sort of problem, like multiple coffee tables that all hold different pieces of the same puzzle: at some point they all have to coalesce. But it shouldn’t take long at all and then as soon as the puzzle comes together, the meeting’s over. And make damn sure they’re all accessible via dial-in or teleconference of some kind.

  2. WORK WHEN YOU WANT, HOW YOU WANT, WHERE YOU WANT. In many lines of work there’s no good reason whatsoever for the employees all to be in the same physical building. You can have a phone call or video chat with your coworkers or your boss. Just get the work done. Nobody cares about anything but the work. That’s why it’s called work.

  3. NO DISTRACTIONS. This really is a part of #2, because if you can work wherever you want, just work from home if you don’t like coworkers distracting you. The chattier types will pick the office option and the office culture will be self-selecting.